This Blog will feature the very Best of spirituality from different world cultures and well known as well as obscure, but great, Gurus. The blog will also feature my own Ideas, which will synthesize the best spiritual ideas for the benefit of all readers.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

The Full moon day in the month of Ashadh –
which generally falls in July –is celebrated as Guru Purnima in India.

Guru – means the remover of the darkness of
Ignorance – and therefore, by implication, the giver of wisdom.

Generally, not every Teacher is acknowledged
as Guru, for this purpose. One who
teaches a science or art – is a teacher – but is not the one in respect of whom
Guru Purnima Puja is intended.

One who removes the darkness of Ignorance
means – one who gives us the wisdom of a permanent kind. One who shows us the
path of permanent Joy and lasting wisdom is the Guru.

This Day - was said to be the day on which
Krishna Dvaipayana (Vyasa) was born in the Dwapar Yug. He re-wrote all the
Vedas in their present form and, went on to write the Greatest Epic of all
times, THE MAHABHARAT. He was thus the giver ofBhagavad Gita also to us – through the Maha Bharat. He also wrote the
Bhagavat, another extraordinary Book containing the deeds of God in his various
incarnations.

VYASA was acknowledged as one of the Greatest
teachers of ALL TIME. It is primarily in his honour, thatGuru Purnima day is celebrated. However, traditionally, starting from Lord
Shiva (and Vishnu), a great lineage of teachers is recognized and this lineage
of Gurus is known as GURU PARAMPARA.

Vedantic Knowledge or knowledge of SPIRITUAL
ENLIGHTENMENT, as it is popularly called these days, comes to the Sadhakas from
Great Gurus, who become the Part of Guru Parampara for each sadhaka – and these
Great Gurus are worshipped on this day by the Sadhaka.

Such Gurus can be one or more – which is not
an issue at all. All of them need to be worshipped on this Guru PurnimaDay.

Even if the Sadhaka learns from a Guru’s
teachings, in his absence (say, after his death), yet, if the knowledge is
spiritual, the Guru has to be worshipped on this day.

As earlier said, the worship starts with Lord
Shiva (or Vishnu) – and comes through Vyasa, Adi sankara and so on upto the
Sadhaka’s Last Guru.

Every Individual born on earth needs a Guru
of the right Kind, whose words he respects, whose actions he adores and in whom
he has great faith. A Guru is one who walks the talk. He is a practitioner of
all that he teaches. He knows what he is teaching. He has seen and experienced
it all himself. It is necessary to go to
such Gurus and become their disciples. It is not necessary that a Guru must be
knowing ALL OF VEDANTA, YOGA etc –before he teaches. He teaches what he clearly
and undoubtedly KNOWS and practices. The rest of it – he will direct the Disciple
to another Great Guru. This was how ASHRAMAteaching used to happen in ancient Days. Sage Vasishta himself asked
Lord Rama to learn many things from sage Vishwamitra. Not that Vasishta does
not know. But, Vishwamitra is the appropriate Guru for the purpose.

Lord Krishna himself was a Great Guru. His
Bhagavad Gita is an extraordinary Book containing his teachings on absolutely scientific knowledge of many
varieties, relevant to this day and for thousands of years in the future too. For
instance, his Guna thraya vibhaga Yoga, his Karma Yoga, his Dhyana yoga – are all
marvels of scientific knowledge. All of today’s scientific achievements pale
into insignificance before this great knowledge. If one does not study them –
one will never know enough about his own BODY-MIND combination itself.

Yet, the same Bhagavad Gita also talks of the
most intricate knowledge of the Atman, of the Godliness and Daemonliness in us,
andmany other extraordinary aspects of
life and life-beyond. Lord Krishna is called Yogeswara.

Lord Shiva, curiously, is called Yogeeswara.
Of the three Great Gods, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma are not residents of
EARTH. They have their own heavens. But, Lord Shiva resides on EARTH, on Kailas
in the Himalayas. He is called Adi Guru –
and he taughtVedanta and Yoga Sasthra
to his concert and to Seven Great Sages.

A question arises – can we see him – if he is
on Kailas? If one is a right disciple, certainly Shiva will see him. Many, many
Great Gurus are said to be on the Himalayas for thousands of years – but they,
their Ashrams and their disciples are invisible to the rest of Mankind. And, In
Yoga Sasthra, this is not considered a great achievement at all. Patanjali Yoga Sutras also mention the
procedure for the same – as Sutras or Principles.

Lord Krishna’s Bhagavad Gita mentions many
aspects of Patanjali Yoga Sutras – long before Patanjali. And, Lord Krishna
says clearly that – this knowledge is nothing new from me – it is the most
ancient knowledge coming from the ancient Gurus. Lord Krishna also mentions in
the Gita, how, as Guru, he himself taught various Great people, in his previous
Births.

It was only when Arjuna’s surrender to the
Lord was TOTAL and COMPLETE, after his VISHADA YOGA – or, his sadness at having
to kill many of his friends, gurus and relatives in the Battle field, that Lord
Krishna starts teaching him the Gita.

It is so with every Guru. Only the Disciple
who totally surrenders to the Guru and keeps absolute faith in him, receives the
Guru’s wisdom. Else, even if one is among the group sitting before him – he does
not receive the wisdom. The words are heard – but the wisdom is not received.
This too happens, very often.

Bhagawan Buddha has said so - on many
occasions. If the question is very deep in you – you receive the answer –
merely by sitting before the Guru. If there is no question, there is no answer!
– says Buddha.

Adi Sankara also says exactly the same thing.
The old disciples sit before the young Guru. The Guru remains silent. And, in
that silence, the disciples receive all their answers – says Adi Sankara.

Adi Sankara received his Greatest teaching from Lord Shiva himself, at Varanasi – and eulogizes
that incident in his NIRVANA SHATKAM. Readers can see detailed exposition of
the same in this Blog elsewhere. The first part of Nirvana Shatkam, coming from
Lord Shiva himself, can be termed as extraordinarily REFORMIST, from a mundane
view point. But, Shiva was only telling what the Vedas and Upanishads teach. The
way, Adi Sankara responds to Shiva’s mocking questions – with absolute humility
– is a marvel in itself. Readers are strongly advised to read and digest the
same.

Coming back to Guru Purnima – Adi Sankara is
a great Guru and his teachings are just as Good as the Upanishads themselves.
Every Sadhaka acknowledges him as his Guru – and so do I.

From the Vedantic side (including Upanishads
etc) – My Guru is –Swami Paramarthananda (an illustrious disciple of Swami
Dayananda) – whose teachings I attend. I also read and listen to other Great
Teachers like Swami Guruparananda (a disciple of Swami Paramarthananda).

From the Yoga side – I read (and listen to) Swami
Vivekananda and Osho – with great respect.

I have attended practical classes conducted
by contemporary Gurus Like – Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Sri Sri Ravishankar’s Art
of Living, Swami Sukha Bodhananda, Swami Ramdev. These classes have given me
great benefit in the practical aspects of Yoga.

As a school going youngster, over 50 years
ago, I had attended a 6 month training at my Native town (in a group of about
40 children) – specially conducted by a Sage (from, possibly Ramakrishna
Mission or Chinmaya Mission or some other Great Mission), who was almost compelled to do so, and the
permission for that, from his Mission HQs was specially obtained by our town
elders with great difficulty. That training was extraordinary – at that tender
age, specially the one like Savasana and Dhyana prakriya.

On the Day of Guru Purnima, I bow down before
all these Great Gurus of mine – and seek their blessings – in my spiritual Journey
further.

As a last point – I must mention that – for a
school or college going child – every conscientious teacher of any subject – is
worthy of REVERENCE. It does not matter that he or she is not teaching Vedanta
or Yoga. Every Great teacher is to be respected and worshipped on this Day.

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1.I have Authored and published a 736 Page, A4 size Book , 'Comprehensive Treatise on Patanjali Yoga Sutras in April2016. It has received Great Blessings and immense appreciation from Swamijis of several Ramakrishna Missions and many others. I have sent my book copies to many Vice chancellors, their university Libraries, and all Big Libraries in India.2. I have conducted hundreds of workshops on personality development and Life skills at The National Academy of Telecom Finance & Management, Hyderabad, and at several places in India .I have trained several thousands of people in various Life skills.Conducted such workshops even after retiring on 31.12.2009.3. I Practice Yoga daily - with Asanas, Pranayamas and Meditation.4. I prefer to experiment on all aspects of Yoga and HR skills in my own Life and make them part of my life. 5. How to BENEFIT the whole Humanity through my knowledge and skills - is my primary concern.6. I have done Masters in Economics & I am certified by National Stock Exchange of India as (i) NSE certified Investment professional Level 5 (ii) NSE Certified Investment Analyst Pro and (iii) NSE Certified Investment Analyst Champion.